TRP: Roddy and Luci (Pray)
October 12, 2018 Muse at 1:37 PM Sanctuary of Eldath, by the pond. Luci is hanging around nearby. It had taken a bit but Roddy had finally managed to find Hansel's other kid. Luci. After freaking out a few clerics with the mention of Jonn's name- he tended to burn bridges too didn't he?- he'd managed to get directions and now here he was. Staring at her from a semi-hidden spot. It felt like he'd been shoved on stage with no idea what part he was playing. This was awful- and it was all Hansel's fault. Had to go make it so Roddy cared. Caring was the worst, it wasn't so bad when it didn't matter if they liked Roddy or not. But he wanted Luci to like him. They were- maybe sorta family? It was complicated. Wasn't getting better lurking in the shadows. He stepped out, waving to Luci. "Hello!" he called loudly. A little too loudly. Wincing, he started to jog closer. Hopefully he hadn't just scared her off. Izzy at 1:44 PM Luci twitched, startled by the sound breaking the placid silence. She turned to find its source and saw a tall tortle with a fancy hat waving at her excitedly. She didn't know many people, and she was sure she didn't know this one, but she raised a hand hesitantly. One of Hansel's teammates, maybe. Luci held a tall wooden staff tucked into her elbow, and a broken sword between her hands. She was a little taller than Jonn, but had similar facial features apart from having pale blue eyes. Muse at 1:47 PM Oh good she wasn't running. Roddy slowed, taking off his hat and twisting it around in his hands. It felt like he'd eaten a beehive, stomach churning with nerves. "Um. Hello." He'd already said that. "I'm- Roddy. I work with Hansel. And I think I might be his new kid? And so- I figured I'd come meet you. Before I possibly get killed saving the world." A lot of the usual boisterousness that was in his voice had faded, and he looked and sounded just about as nervous as he felt. Izzy: at 1:49 PM "Oh." Luci gave him a blank look. "He ... didn't mention ..." She squinted up at him. "How old are you?" Muse at 1:50 PM "Seventeen," Roddy answered promptly. Hey wait. "Whhhy do you want to know?" he asked, squinting back. No one had asked that before. Izzy: at 1:53 PM "Oh. Goodness. You're just very tall." She glanced away, seeming a little embarrassed. "I've never met a tortle before. The illustrations don't make you look so big. Well, it's very nice to meet you." She shuffled the two halves of the broke sword into one hand to hold the other one out. "I'm Luci -- I guess you knew that already. What, um, did Hansel do to ... adopt you?" Muse at 1:58 PM Oh it was just a height thing- okay. "Hi Luci," Roddy said, reaching out to give her hand an enthusiastic shake. "Uh, I'm not sure?" Roddy answered, scratching his head. "If you mean legally we didn't do any paperwork we just talked. I cried." It popped out without Roddy even thinking about it. ...He hadn't meant to admit that that was embarrassing. "...Please don't tell anyone about that." Izzy: at 2:00 PM Once she'd shaken his hand (paw?), she tucked her arms close to herself, half-hugging the sword. "Oh, no, I don't think -- legally isn't really his style." Then her brow furrowed in concern. "He made you cry?" Muse at 2:02 PM "Yep!" Roddy said cheerfully, popping the p. ...Why did he keep doing this? "Uh good cry? I think? The sort of cry where you don't know why people care but they do anyway and it hurts but on some level your kinda happy about it?" Wow. He just kept spilling his most innermost thoughts out to this girl didn't he. "HEY so I see you have a broken sword," he said, awkwardly attempting to change the subject. Izzy: at 2:08 PM Luci blinked a couple time, not seeming to know how to react to that. "Oh. That sounds very, um ... Yes. Sword." She looked down at it, perfectly willing to change the subject too. "I'm here to make an offering to Eldath. We give her broken weapons to vow pacifism. It's actually for --." She hesitated. "Did you meet my brother while you've been with Hansel?" Muse at 2:12 PM Roddy nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah, we were good friends! Till everyone got mad at him. Guess we're not talking any more then." Roddy drooped a bit. Jonn had been fun to hang around, and he'd thought he was on the party's side. Except apparently he'd helped Diva out- why did family have to be so complicated? Izzy: at 2:18 PM "Oh." Her eyes widened in surprise. "He made a friend? That's -- good." She glanced down at the sword and mumbled, "He does tend to upset people, though, yes." Looking back up, she said, "Hansel told me he did something terrible. Even by their standards. But I, well --." Luci turns to look out over the still, glassy pond. The water is clear enough that years of offerings are visible deep underneath its surface, sword and shields and greataxes slowly, peacefull rusting away. She steps closer to the edge of the water, then looks back to Roddy. "I'm going to ask Eldath to look out for them. Jonn and Hansel. They're both ... well." She glances away uncomfortably. "But I don't want them to die. Would you like to join me?" She holds the hilt end of the broken sword out to Roddy. Muse at 2:21 PM Roddy reaches out, but stops just before taking it. "Are you sure, er, Eldath won't mind? I'm not- I don't follow him." Another question, that Roddy didn't voice, was would Helm mind? Izzy: at 2:24 PM Luci smiled. "I don't think she'll mind. It's the thought that counts." Muse at 2:41 PM Roddy hesitated a second longer- internally fretting about his own god. But Luci was family now. Family had each other's backs- so he took it and stepped up to stand next to her. "So er, do we just?" he asked, miming throwing the sword into the water. "Or is there a prayer or something?" Izzy: at 2:48 PM "Some of the clerics pray," she admitted, "but I prefer to just ... talk. I think Eldath is a reasonable goddess." She shifted her grip on the blade to make sure it couldn't cut her, then glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder and whispered, "I also like to just throw my offerings out into the pond as hard and far as I can. I don't know if Eldath likes it, but it makes me feel better." Then she reeled back and pitched the blade clean across the pond, where it sliced down into the surface with a plonk and sunk down to the bottom. Luci grinned and looked to Roddy, waiting for him to follow. It made her look more like Jonn. Muse at 2:51 PM Hey, Luci was fun! Roddy grinned and also leaned back to chuck his half into the water. It slipped out of his hand a little early and made a high arc before splooshing into the pond only a few feet in. "Well at least I didn't stab nobody, eh Jonn?" he joked, nudging Luci with his elbow and grinning down at her. Izzy: at 2:53 PM Luci started to laugh -- a quiet, almost nervous sound -- watching his throw, but it faded halfway out of her. She put a hand on the staff tucked into her elbow and looked back up at Roddy. "What?" Muse at 2:55 PM What? "Um. It's a good thing I didn't stab anybody Jo- oh." That's what he'd done. "I got the names mixed up. You two do look a lot alike you know." Izzy: at 2:58 PM "Oh." She looked down. "I guess so. Well. We're quite different, I'm afraid." She paused, then turned back to the pond and offered her hand for Roddy to hold. "Um. We can speak to Eldath now. You can do it in your head, if you want." Muse at 3:02 PM Roddy felt like he'd stepped in something, and he wasn't sure what that 'something' was. "Okay," he said, taking Luci's hand. Talking was something he was good at. He did it a lot- probably too much- but when it came to praying he was never sure what to say. He didn't want to die. He didn't want Hansel to die. Or Jonn. Or Goro, or Raef, or Larkin, or Sugar or- anybody. "I just want a happy ending," he murmured quietly. "That's not too much to ask, is it?" Izzy: at 3:07 PM Luci squeezed his hand after he spoke, and he could hear her softly saying, "Please watch over my family. Keep them safe from themselves." She was still for a moment, her head bowed; then she took a deep breath and raised her head, squeezing Roddy's hand again before releasing it and looking up at him with another smile. "I always feel better after I come out here. I hope it helped you, too." Muse at 3:10 PM Mostly? Roddy was a little bit more on edge about his status with Helm now. But Luci smiling up at him- that made it worth it. "Well I'm glad I got to know you at least," Roddy said, reaching out and ruffling her hair. "You stay safe, aright? Somebody needs to." Izzy: at 3:15 PM Luci laughed quietly, pulling away from the hair-ruffling, but not far. "Yes. Thank you for finding me. I'm ... glad Hansel has good people like you watching his back." She shifted her staff into her hand, straightening her back and dropping her shoulders, and somehow looking older than she had. "I'll be safe. The Sanctuary is always safe. We make sure of it." Muse at 3:20 PM Good people- still felt weird being called that. "Maybe I'll have to come by here and hang out longer sometime then. Get a break from all this danger." But speaking of that- "I gotta head back to the ship. Things to do, people to kill, all that fun adventurer stuff," he said, a mocking note to his tone. "I hope I get to see you again- and I'm going to do my best to make sure you can see Hansel again too." Izzy: at 3:23 PM END Category:Text Roleplay